Another Try, Another Style

Soooo I wanted to try another Dave portrait. This was different than the last one.

And I've decided that art is entirely too subjective! But not, because that is the beauty of it...but anyway, how are you supposed to know what is good and what isn't when everyone has a different opinion? I'm glad we can all think for ourselves though. I guess I'm just torn a bit. I'll explain why I brought this subject up so you know where this random rant came from...

So I started the portrait with high hopes for something beautiful and realistic and full and rich. But no. The paint wouldn't have it. It wanted to be flat, and sticky, and dry and hard to work with and frustrating! So I just sort of stopped 2/3 of the way through because I was getting so frustrated.

Guess which painting is the new favorite of my professors and fellow painting majors? This one. They won't let me finish it. They like it flat and unfinished and dry and lop sided. What is a portrait artist obsessive about accuracy to do? I guess I'll leave it for now. Oh art world, why are you so confusing? Maybe one day I'll figure you out. Maybe.

Hannah Wertz: In Her Working Apron

Just did this last night. I love painting at night. I don't know what it is about me, but I just love the calm quiet of the late evenings. It is the least stressful time of the day for me. Usually by then I've gotten over any guilt and stress of getting things done for classes, and I can just enjoy doing art. For some reason my sensitivity is more acute, and good things tend to happen.

This beautiful girl is a good art friend of mine. She is a very sweet and kind, and yet a crazy fun girl. She is a beautiful painter. Right now she is doing these large drawings and paintings of trees with organic textures. We hang out in the studio at night time.

She makes people smile. I hope this can potentially do the same.

Thoughtful Dave

My first real portrait of Dave. I can't believe it has taken me this long to do a full color painting of him. But I finally have done it. (I'm not sure if it is finished... I might need to do a bit more of his shirt.)

It is so much easier to paint someone that you spend a lot of time with. You can catch the subtleties. Take something like Dave's nose for instance. Very characteristically Dave's. If I didn't spend as much time as I do with him, I don't know if I would have gotten it right. It took me several tries anyway. But it really was enlivening to try to capture those features I know so well. His eyebrows (that he actually gets compliments on quite often), his cheekbones, his lips, etc. I have studied these features very carefully, so it was almost second nature to paint them.

I started this piece today because I was feeling a little bit frustrated and hurt. I'd been in a stressful situation with stressed people, and I just needed an escape from the STRESS of the first few days of school. You know, those days when you actually realize just how much work you're going to be putting yourself through this semester. I've also been preparing for an art show, and that sort of thing unfailingly ends up being more work than you ever planned. Anyway, before I complain to all of you any longer, I guess what I'm getting at is I am grateful for the simple joys and calming happiness these features bring into my life. They not only make me feel happy, but confidant too. Even though I may not have the "deepest" art philosophy or most interesting paint strokes, someone who means an awful lot to me thinks that what I have to say or what I want to do is worth while. Thank you, thoughtful Dave.